Guy Lafleur was an ordinary guy who happened to be a hockey legend; a career in the National Hockey League Hall of Fame would have taken Guy from a small town, but he would not have taken Guy from the small town of Guy.
Cornwall native Mike O’Connor (a CCVS graduate) who calls himself a retired “bucket list adventurer” discovered this first-hand in a chance encounter with Lafleur in Cornwall at Navy 200 a few years ago.
O’Connor, a retired president and CEO of Calgary-based O’Connor Associates, was injured at Marina 200 on the first leg of a first voyage east along St. Calcary. Lawrence to Montreal, from Gananoque, where he keeps his sailing boat, the A Mi Manera.
The next morning, a cruiser named OCEAN’S 10 arrived at Marina 200 and accidentally slipped past O’Connor. It was flown by Lafleur, who traveled from Montreal with his wife, Lise.
The marina had become one of Lafleur’s ports of call along St. Lawrence.
O’Connor, who had never met Lafleur but was well aware of the Thurso native’s huge footprint in the NHL, helped him connect and was soon engaged in a conversation with his new “neighbor.”
Lafleur and his wife, Lise, accepted O’Connor’s invitation to join him and his “Admiral” / partner – Jana Kristin – to carefully study some of the river maps for the second leg of the journey.
Not only did The Flower offer some navigation tips, but it also suggested that O’Connor arrive at the old port of Montreal Marina, Lafleur’s home base, for a few days.
O’Connor wondered how to secure a slippery harbor. No problem, Lafleur said. He called the marina to reserve a place for “mes amis”.
On their way to Montreal, they walked behind OCEAN’S 10 to Montreal’s marina, where Lafleur was greeted “at home” by deck operators.
As O’Connor tied up, one of the young hands proudly announced that the brief had been reserved (for O’Connor) by Lafleur, the port’s “signature client” and “the fairest captain in the marina.”
Mr. and Mrs. Lafleur insisted that O’Connor and Kristin join them for dinner at one of his favorite restaurants in Old Montreal, La Maree, where the staff greeted the well-known Lafleur as if he were royal.
After a few “adult” drinks, a sumptuous meal and hours of conversation, the four returned to the boats.
Guests could not help but notice that, despite the closure of the restaurant and the cleaning staff, he was in no hurry to get the famous hockey player and his guests out.
On the way back to the marina, O’Connor mentioned to Lafleur that sailing to Montreal and staying in the Old Port harbor had been one of the items on his bucket list.
“However, I never imagined how great an adventure would turn out,” he told the hockey legend.
Undoubtedly, Lafleur’s death last week sparked fond memories of spending time with a common hockey legend.
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In April 1957, an investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police hit a brick wall in an attempt to find out where $ 5,000 cash and checks went after he was dropped off at the Pitt Street Police Station to be kept safe.
Richard Silmser, a car dealership operator, handed over the money in a large manila envelope to the front desk on a Friday night. Because his office did not have a safe, it was his custom to leave cash at the station.
However, when he showed up on Monday to recover the money, the envelope was not found.
The investigation speculated that the envelope could have been accidentally thrown away. It was never found.
The local police commission acquitted the perpetrator of the mysterious disappearance. However, this did not dispel rumors in the community that it was internal work.
AND THIS MONTH IN 1957
– The land for the new United Church of Ingleside has been transformed. He combined the congregations of Wales, Aultsville, Osnabruck Center and Gallingertown.
– Scholarship winners at the annual Kinsmen Music Festival included Ronald Lavigne, Norma MacLellan, Flora Cameron, Peter McGuire, Joan Loucks, Frances McGillis and Richard Abraham.
– Jade Garden Restaurant on Second Street East has opened.
– Charles Stewart, 13, of Central Public School, ranked second in the regional spelling rankings in Ottawa. He received a set of Encyclopedia Britannica.
– New teachers hired by the public school board for the next term were Robert Ralph, Clare Garlough, Ellis Barclay, Marily